Redemption
by Ana Forever in the stars
Summary: Hermione Granger was ready to put the past behind her until a sudden appearance shattered everything.
1. A Sudden Apperance

Hermione Granger came in through the front door, drenched from the pouring rain outside. She threw her purse aside onto the table before hanging her wet trench coat on the rack. She let out a small, frustrated grunt as she wiggled her foot, causing her shoe to fall off and slam against the wall. Frustrated, she stormed deeper into her small and humble flat, thinking about how chaotic and annoying her day was.

"Hello, Hermione."

Hermione jumped from where she was standing. Her head quickly snapped back to reality and she whipped her wand out of her pocket, ready to defend herself.

The man stood in front of her smirked, seeing how startled she was. He noticed her wand pointing directly at him, but she did not arouse any fear from him as she planned. He stood up from he was sitting, his hands crossed across his chest as his amusement increased.

"What in bloody hell are you doing here?" She spat, glaring at him and she tightened the grip on her wand.

Draco Malfoy didn't respond right away; instead, his eyes roamed her body, studying her wet hair and slender frame. He noticed how she barely changed after Hogwarts. Physically, she grew into woman hood perfectly. Her hair, despite its messy state, was shorter than before. She was curvier, filling out the odd parts of her adolescence body. However, Hermione Granger was still the same girl he left behind; smart, feisty, and based on this current situation, slightly dangerous.

"You do know how silly you look right now right? If I were a muggle intruding your home, I would laugh because a woman like you would defend herself with a stick? And not to mention, you can expose magic to the world," he replied, not bothering to answer her question.

Hermione watched Draco with curiosity. She hasn't seen this boy-no, this man- for years. After she graduated from Hogwarts, she quickly took off from her magical world. Her adventures with her best friends, Harry and Ron, proved to be too much for her. Although she was highly intelligent when it comes to magic, she has seen too much danger and death in her school than most people in their lifetime. With the end of the War and school, she returned to her muggle life, keeping minimum, but enough contact with her magical friends.

"Malfoy, if you don't tell her what you're doing at my flat, _uninvited, _I have no problem throwing you outside my window," she threatened. She hasn't used her wand in a while, nor a spell in over a year. Even today, she still questioned herself why she continued to carry her past with her in her pocket. Her doubt however, didn't reach her capability of conjuring a spell; she was yet again, the brightest witch known to public.

Draco walked closer to her with both hands in the air. He wasn't afraid of her threat. He knew that Hermione wouldn't use a spell against him, despite their history.

"We both know that you're not going to use a spell against me," he said, closing the distance between them. His left hand touched the tip of her wand and lowered it aside. Hermione followed this movement without a fight. "I know what the War has done to you. I know that you're not going to use magic unless there's a good purpose," he continued as he stood only a couple inches away from her.

Hermione's thoughts ran wildly inside her head. She wanted to re-direct her wand against this blonde man once again, but he was right. She would not use magic again unless she has too. Draco Malfoy was not a danger to her, at least not now. She remained silent as she studied his face at a close distance. He was still pale as ever. His hair was slightly darker than normal, and his smirk was still as arrogant as ever. But she noticed the change in his eyes that she can't put her finger on.

"You left me, Malfoy. You left me when I needed you the most. No, you left me when everyone needed you the most," she said silently. "What do you expect me to do? You were gone for five years without a word. You didn't write; you didn't explain anything to me. No one knew where you were. The Ministry looked for you. Harry and Ron even looked for you. I even looked for you when everyone had given up."

Draco's eyes softened as he noticed how Hermione shrunk when she spoke. Her eyes were not guarded anymore. He could not bring out the words to defend himself. As much as he wanted to explain to her why he did what he did, he would not- or could not- answer her question.

"Hermione-"

He was cut off with her sudden movement. She shoved him with both her hands, making him stumble a few feet from where he was standing. Tears started to form on the corner of her eyes, but she blinked them away, not wanting to show any remorse to Draco.

"You have no _right_ to be here," she growled, her eyes returned to its state of coldness. "No right, you hear me? You can't just prance back into my life, expecting everything to be okay. Do you know how much pain you caused me over the years? No, you possibly can't. Because you _left_ me!"

Her angry voice betrayed the sadness she was trying to hide. Draco's chest tightened as he listened to her. He regained his composure a second after she pushed him, and he found himself walking back to her. His hand reached for hers, but Hermione stepped back.

"Everybody thought you were dead! Dead!," she screamed. "There can't be any other explanation. Surely, we all know how cold you can be, but you can't be as inhumane to left me without a single explanation! When everybody stopped searching for you and pronounced you dead, I continued my own search. You know how insane I looked to others? Harry and Ron tried to convince me to let go of you, but I couldn't! I refused to acknowledge your death because I know you're strong and brave enough to survive anything!"

"Please-"

"No, you listen to me!" Hermione cut again. "Months turned into years. I tried following your trail, but you simply disappeared from the face of the earth. I traveled everywhere for you, Draco. I turned the world upside down searching for any clues on your disappearance, I couldn't find anything. I risked everything for you; I even gave up everything, My best friends, my magic, my life, only for you to run away! Now you're standing in my flat, wanting me to welcome you back with open arms? You can be stupid, but you cannot be that stupid."

Hermione raised her arm again, and pointed her wand against him once more. She cannot be here right now, not in front of this man who caused her so much pain over the years.

"Goodbye, Draco," she said before doing what Draco feared the most.

**A/N**: Hey guys! This is my first time writing fan fiction in a while (in 5+ years) and also my first time writing HP fan fiction. I know this chapter is kind of fast, but I wanted to break the traditional seting of typical fan fiction stories. Please forgive me about any mistakes you see above and please review nicely, but honestly!


	2. Uninvited

Hermione sat down, even more frustrated than ever before. She ran her hand through her half-dried hair, untangling some parts of her brown mane. Tears ran freely down her pale cheeks as she tried to clear her mind.

_He's back. Draco is back._

She repeated this inside her head countless times in silence. So many emotions ran through her body; anger, happiness, sadness intermingled inside of her. How can she react with this properly? Anger is one possible option, but right now, she's just too tired to do anything about it.

Letting out a deep sigh, she took in her surroundings. When she left her flat, she apparated the first place she could think of: the Weasley's home. Although she has been avoiding magical places for years, even the Burrow, she never felt out of place being right there at that moment. The sun shone through the windows, illuminating the old furniture that crowded the home. Pictures of the redheaded family covered the space on the walls and counters. She smiled slightly, wrapping her arms around her as she sat near the fireplace. No matter how long she's been away from here, the Weasley's home always felt welcoming to her.

Hermione looked up, focusing her eyes on the slender, tall figure entering the room. Ginny Weasley came in, giving her a small smile while carrying two cups of hot tea. The redhead settled one of the cups in front of Hermione before sitting across from her on the love seat. Hermione gave her a curt nod before taking in a sip of tea, prolonging the silence.

Hermione appreciated Ginny's silence. When she first arrived at their home soaking wet, Ginny immediately walked into the kitchen to prepare their tea, leaving Hermione alone with her thoughts. She knew that the redhead girl had a lot of questions for her, but she never muttered a single word.

Setting the tea cup down, she looked at the young Weasley. "He's back."

Ginny raised her eyebrows questioningly. "Who's back?"

"Draco."

Ginny choked on her tea. Clearing her throat, she picked up the napkin that was lying down of the coffee table and wiped her lips. "Draco - Draco Malfoy?" she asked stupidly.

Hermione nodded her head. "Yes. He showed up in my flat when I came back from work. I don't know how he knows where I live, but he did. He was just sitting there, waiting for me. You should have seen him, Gin. He doesn't look like the person who's been missing for years! There was no scratch on him, or any type of disfigurement. You can even say he's perfect."

The brunnete pressed her fingers on her temples. "God, you would think that disappearing would change someone. But he's still the same; pale, blond, and arrogant as ever. That prick thought I should be happy and welcome him with open arms!"

"But aren't you?" Ginny questioned.

Hermione thought for a moment. She pressed her clips together, trying to form the right answer for her friend. Truthfully, she was glad that he's back safe and sound. She wasn't inhumane to wish any harm to him, even though she secretly wanted to strangle him earlier. But despite her inner happiness, she felt anger escaping from every single pore of her body.

"I'm glad he's safe," Hermione responded carefully. "I really am, but how does he expect me to react the way he wanted me to? I can't just jump into his arms, kissing his face and thanking God for his return. Even though he's back, it doesn't change the way I feel."

"How do you exactly feel? His appearance can't just go unotice to you," said Ginny. "Don't try lying to me either. I'm your best friend Hermione, even though you've been avoiding me for some time. You disappeared on me for a long time. Not physically, but emotionally as well. And now, I'm not going to let you do that again."

Guilt rose in the pit of her stomach. "Ginny.."

The read head raised her small hand, stopping Hermione in mid sentence. "I know you're sorry, and as much as I appreciate your apology, this is not my moment right now. I forgive you for everything because I know you're a smart girl. You didn't intend to hurt me or anybody else. But right now, there's something more important than this."

Hermione hesitated for a moment and then stood up, walking towards the window. She looked out into the green, open field. The sun is beginning to disappear from the horizon, the moon beginning to make its appearance.

"He ran away," Hermione whispered softly. "He ran away from me. He disappeared on us without a single note or excuse. He made everyone think he was dead. Dead!"

Her eyes begin to water again. "You don't know the pain I felt. I suffered terribly, Gin. Every single lead I had ended up in disappointment. Every day for years, my heart was stabbed over and over. Every night, I fell asleep crying into my pillow."

Ginny nodded her head in slight understanding. She too, went through something similar with Harry. When they were at Hogwarts together during the peak of the War, he suddenly disappeared one night after dinner. No one knew where he was, not Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and even Dumbledore. She tried looking for him, but her family and Hermione discouraged her from doing so. He knew what he was doing, they told her. There's no need to look for him when he doesn't want to be found.

But with Draco, it was different. Although both of them disappeared, everyone knew what Harry was doing. He was a hero to others, but Draco's unknown reason pales to Harry's. Draco is a former death eater and the son of a notorious death eater. When he left, everyone thought that he ran away with the other death eaters when Voldermort fell from power.

Hermione turned away from the window and faced Ginny. She wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater. "I can't help but want to do all those things he wanted me to do. Run into his arms and kiss him, all of that."

Ginny stood up, walked towards her broken friend and wrapped her arms around her. Hermione dug her head into Ginny's shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably.

"You can't run away from him," Ginny said bluntly. "I'm sorry, I know this is not what you want to hear, but you can't. There's so much between you two, and you have to face him sooner or later."

Hermione's sobs gradually died down. She knew that Ginny was right. Sooner or later, she would have to face Draco again. But right now, she can't help but wish it would be later. _Much _later.

Draco stood on the empty sidewalk, staring at the house in front of him. The rain ceseded, leaving the air wet and humid. The sky was getting darker by the minute and the streetlight above him flickered suddenly. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he tried to recollect his thoughts.

Draco was surprised that Hermione apparated from him. He knew that Hermione hated apparating, but he also knew that she hated running away from anything. The Hermione Granger he knew faced any problem that stood in front of her, even death.

_I guess you don't know everything about her._

His eyes flashed open. Blocking any voices inside of him, he crossed the sidewalk without looking both ways. The street was empty from any passing cars, and he could hear a dog barking from the distance. He reached toward the door and gave it a soft knock.

"Coming!" a voice in the inside said.

The door opened with a smiling man behind it. His smile however, disappeared when he saw Draco on the frontsteps.

"Hey-"

Draco was cut off as the man's fist connected with his jaw. He stumbled back a few steps, his mouth opened in shock. "Bloody hell!"

Blaise Zabini crossed his muscular arms across his chest. He leaned against the side of the door, glaring at Malfoy. "Were you expecting a welcome kiss?"

Draco regained his composure. "That's gross."

The dark man's eyes narrowed. "So you're finally back, huh? Are you going to tell me why you were gone you stupid son of a bitch?"

"Are you going to welcome me inside your lovely home?" Draco retorted.

"I see nothing has changed when it comes to your personality," Blaise commented, stepping aside to let his old friend back in.

Draco stepped inside the home. "Of course not. How can I derived the world from this charming personality?"

Blaise shook his head, closing the door behind him. "Follow me."

The two Slytherins walked deeper inside the home. Draco noticed how extravagant his friend has been. The home itself is twice, maybe three times, as big as Hermione's flat. The decoration suited Blaise; his home was slightly dimmed, with one or two lights lit, which required Draco a moment or two to let his eyes focus. The walls were covered with dark colors, and he noticed there was the Slytherin patch that was framed on the table. Extravagant and rich paintings hung on the wall; tall and implosive statues stood on the nearby stairs.

Blaise opened the French doors of his study. "Get in," he ordered, and closed the doors again behind both of them.

The study was brighter than the rest of the house, but not much. A big, dark oak desk stood in the middle of the room. There was black, leather chair that belonged to Blaise and two more chairs stood on the other side of the desk. A picture of Blaise and his mother took up a big section of the wall on the right side of the room. As Blaise settled himself to his seat, Draco studied the picture intentally.

Blaise's mother was known to be a beauty. By looking at the picture, the rumors weren't false. She had a slender woman with high cheak bones. Her skin tone and hair color was similar, if not the same, as Blaise. Her smile was radiant, but Draco noted it was slightly forced. Her beauty allowed her to maintain her innocence she had when she was young. However, her eyes were dark, experienced.

Blaise cleared his throat. "I'm sure you're not here just to stare at a painting."

Draco's thoughts snapped back to reality. He turned around, looking at his friend who took a seat on his chair. "Right."

He walked towards one of the two chairs, and took a seat across Blaise. "Let's get one thing clear: I'm not here to tell you _why_ I was gone, but to tell you that I'm back permantly. Now, before you say anything, allow me to tell you that I will never let you know why I was gone. At least not know. Trust me, if I can tell you, you would be the first person to know. I trust you with my life, mate, but I have my reasons."

Blaise looked at Draco suspiciously. "Who else knows you're here?"

"You.. and Hermione."

Draco was surprised to hear Blaise laugh. "Hermione Granger? As in, THE Hermione Granger?" he said between laughter. "I assume that it didn't go very well?"

"You assume correct. She.. apparated away before I can say anything."

With that, Blaise stopped laughing. "She used magic?"

Draco stared at his friend quizzically. "Of course she did. She's a witch."

Blaise sighed and rose from his seat. He walked towards the corner of the room, where he stored his drinks. He took out two cups and poured out some whiskey. "I know that, you dimwit. But Hermione hasn't used magic in years."

This got Draco's attention. "What do you mean she hasn't used magic in years? Hermione loves magic! She cannot possibly live without it."

The dark man closed the whiskey bottle and stored it back to one of the shelves. He took a small sip from his glass and handed the other to Draco. "She changed, mate. When you disappeared, she cuts of contact with most of her old classmates from Hogwarts. As far as I know, she only kept contact with Potter and the Weasleys. She was offered a job at Hogwarts as a teacher, and even one as an auror, but she turned down for a muggle job here in London."

Draco took a big sip from his drink, consuming this information. Hermione gave up magic.. for him? No, she can't do that. She possibly can't. She's stronger.

_This is your fault. You destroyed her._

He finished the whiskey in mere seconds while Blaise continued to eye him questionally. "Take it easy, Draco," his friend warned.

Draco swallowed the last sip of his whiskey, his throat burning. His body demanded more of the drink, while his mind tried to control him from bursting out in anger. He held out his cup, suggesting Blaise to refill it. Instead, Blaise took the cup away from him and settled it on the desk.

"You are not going to tell drunk here in my home," he said. "You listen to me Draco. We looked everywhere for you. Pansy and I, we asked everyone- and I mean everyone- where you were, but no one knew. We even went to Malfoy Manor, but your house was gone too. I don't know how you can possibly destroy or hide something with that magnitude, and I don't even want to know. When the Ministry knows you're here.."

Blaise trailed on, knowing Draco can finish the rest for him. He knew that the Ministry would not take his welcome lightly. The last time they knew Draco, he was a death eater. Nobody knew, except for his parents, friends, and Hermione, that he renounced the Dark Lord's name in favor for Potter's cause. His disappearance would appear to be him running away to avoid a sentence in Azkaban's, or worst, the Dementor's kiss.

"I trust you," Blaise continued. "I know now that you have a good reason why you're did what you did. I'm not going to push you to anymore questions. But I hope you know that you have a lot of redemption to do. The Ministry should be notified of your return any day now, and there's a lot of things you also need to take care of."

Before Draco could reply, Blaise glanced at his watch, his eyes widening. He let out a curse under his breath and picked up the jacket that hanging on the coat rack.

"Where are you going?" asked Draco.

Blaise hesitated for a moment as he put on his jacket. After a second or two of debating, he looked at his friend in the eye. "Hermione's engagement party."

Hermione stood in the tent that magically sprung in the Weasley's backyard. The tent was, of course, magically charmed for this special event. A hundred guests packed inside the tent, alongside with tables of food and drinks. The Weasleys, poor as they are, went all out for the party. Guests mingled with cocktails in their hands and elves circled the room carrying finger food. Hermione argued against the elves' employment, but Mrs. Weasley, and even the elves themselves, said that it was not a problem for them to work at this event.

Hermione stood in the edge of the circle, dressed in a dress picked out by Ginny. The dress was strapless and short, barely reaching her knees. It was white, with floral design that circled the bottom of the dress. It wasn't fancy, Ginny said, but it was her.

Her hair, again, should be credited to Ginny. Her talk with Ginny made Hermione forget about the hair appointment she set up in London. Ginny insisted that she could dress Hermione's hair for her. After pushing her into the shower and unknotting the infamous Granger's hair, Ginny was able to tame her hair with a curler. The curls were different from Hermione's natural ones, as it was bigger and less frizzy. To complete the look, Ginny placed a blue flower on her hair, giving it a fresh, Summer look.

Hermione was startled when a muscular, pale arm wrapped her around her. "Hello, beautiful," he whispered.

George Weasley kissed Hermione's cheek lightly. His red hair was the same as Ginny's, but it was short and messy like Ron's. Although he claimed that he did combed his hair before tonight's events, Hermione noticed that some parts of it were sticking out at odd ends.

Hermione turned around and gave her fiancée a small peck on his lips. However, George had another thing in his mind, and deepened the kiss, pressing his body against her's.

Many thought that Hermione would end up with Ron, seeing that the two were friends and even shared a kiss while at Hogwarts. However, both of them mutually agreed that there was nothing between them. No fireworks, no spark, no anything. They amicably agreed that they would continue on as best friends.

Their romantic relationship started a year ago. Although they were friends through Ron, they never thought about being together romantically until one fateful night.

With Fred's death, George was a lot calmer. Even though he is already the calmer of the two twins, George's personality took a drastic turn. He was more serious, more attentive to his family than ever before. George Weasley was slightly damaged, not mentally, but emotionally. While they coped with the deaths that shook Hogwarts and the rest of the magical world, they became a lot closer, despite Ron's disgust.

Fred helped Hermione look for Draco while Ron and Harry gave up on her. She thought that he was doing this for her because he did not want her to feel the same thing he did. George didn't want Hermione to face death, or even worse, handle death. One night, while they were trailing a lead that led to a dead end, Hermione suddenly began crying. George took her into his arms, allowing her to cry for almost one hour. He stood there, pressing his hand against Hermione's hair, and didn't even whisper a single word. He didn't suggest she should stop crying, but instead, encouraged her. When Hermione stopped, he looked up at the tall Weasley and kissed him.

That was the night when Hermione closed the door to her past behind her. She and George became a couple, and enjoyed many romantic dates in between. George too, limited his use of magic ever since the Battle of Hogwarts. He moved out of his family's home, but still lived in the magical world, where he could still keep a close eye on his family. He never pushed Hermione to moving in with him nor her, even though she knew that he wanted to live with her.

Last month, he proposed to her. They were both in France for a small vacation, and he proposed to her on the Eifel tower. Hermione wasn't much of a romantic person, but she has to admit, the proposal took her breath away. She hesitated when George proposed, although she hid it well from him. George is a good man. He is her best friends' brother; he belonged to a loving and welcoming family who nurtured her ever since her first year in Hogwarts. He knew everything about her, her pain, her expectations, everything.

_At least, almost everything,_ Hermione thought.

She and Ginny agreed to not tell George yet. She would tell him eventually, but she didn't want to ruin their night. She knew however, that Ginny told her husband, Harry, who's been staring at her accusingly from a distance.

"How was your day?" Hermione asked, slipping her hand into George's.

"The usual. Crazy kids, you know?" George said, taking a sip of his champagne.

George continued with his business that he opened with Fred, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. He couldn't bear to close the shop down, fearing that it would ruin Fred's memory. He continued making new inventions without much interest, and even hired another man who shared the same passion as his late twin, to help him invent new inventions.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley tried to encourage their son to sell the shop to the other young inventor, but George wouldn't budge. Hermione herself even tried to encourage him, seeing how being there reminded him of Fred. Again, George wouldn't listen to her and closed down emotionally. He even ignored her for two weeks; that was the last time Hermione ever mentioned it.

"Aunty Hermione!" a small voice spoke up to her.

Hermione looked down to see Teddy Lupin, the son of the late Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks. smiling up at her. Hermione released George's hand and picked up the little child. "Hello, Teddy. Are you enjoying the party?"

Teddy nodded his little head "Yes! But Uncle Harry and Aunty Ginny won't let me drink out of that pretty cup," he complained while pointing at George's flute.

Both Hermione and George laughed. "Well, since Harry and Ginny aren't looking.." George said, luring the flute towards Teddy, who held his hands out greadily.

"George!" Hermione laughed. Teddy frowned when George winked at him, and finished the flute himself. "Sorry, Teddy. Try again next time."

Teddy stuck out his tongue at George before refocusing his attention back at Hermione. "You look pretty tonight, Aunty."

This made George laugh. "When does she not look pretty?"

Teddy pondered on this question while Hermione joined George in laughter. "Thank you, Teddy. You look quite dashing yourself tonight."

Teddy grinned at her proudly before jumping down from her arms. He ran back towards Ginny and Harry, wrapping his small hands around both of their legs. Hermione smiled slightly, taking in the blissful, small family in front of her. Although Andromeda has custody of Teddy, it did not stop Harry and Ginny from spending quality time with him. Andromeda didn't mind either; she is too busy promoting her international business and took advantage of the free babysitting.

Hermione found herself envious of the young couple. _If I only had it that easy.._

"Hermione!"

Blaise Zabini made his way through the crowd, with a concern look on his face. He noticed George beside her, who was talking to one of the guests. Seeing him, his face completely transformed; he began to smile and his eyes shone, covering the concern look she saw earlier.

"George! Good to see you!" he said, giving the tall read head a quick hug.

"Good to see you too, mate." George said, pausing his conversation he was having. "There's a lot of food and drinks out there. Mum really went all out. Now, if you excuse me, I'll be with you in just a moment."

George took the man he was talking to and lead him to a different direction, leaving Hermione and Blaise alone. When he saw George was out of earshot, the concerned look returned.

"I'm sorry, Hermione," he said.

"I'm sorry? What are you sorry about?" Hermione asked.

Before Blaise could answer, a sudden scream erupted from the room.

A/N: Well, what do you think guys/ This chapter is almost twice as long as the previous one. I even re-wrote this chapter, and I'm pretty proud of it, haha. I know I kind of repeated the same things over, but I just wanted to introduce Ginny and Blaise (who is one of my favorite characters in fan fiction) into the story. I wanted to form the friendship base for both Hermione and Draco. Also, as you might have noticed, Hermione is with George! I know, I know, she should be with Ron, but I have good reasons to not pair the two together. One, I was never really a fan of the couple in books, movies, or fan fiction. Two, there are too many stories concerning Ron and Hermione. Third, I love the Weasley twins and I have a good storyline concerning George! So yeah J Now, please review and give me your thoughts about this chapter. Again, try to be nice, but honest :D


	3. The Encounter

Hermione couldn't breathe. She had lost its grip to her drink, spilling all of its contents on the floor. The glass shattered onto the hard ground, making a loud shattering noise. No one looked at her; no one heard the glass break. All eyes were glued onto one person.

Draco Malfoy stood in the middle of the room surrounded by party goers. His eyes roamed around the room, scanning each face for those familiar brown eyes. He took note of their surprising faces, their mouths gaped in surprise.

Hermione suddenly felt an urge to hide behind Blaise, hoping that Draco would simply go away. But she didn't. She stood there, frozen out of fear, anger, and anxiety. Her emotions were so interlocked with each other, it was hard for her to distinguish one from another.

Draco's gray, cool eyes finally landed on her brown ones. Her spine stiffened; her palms sweat. His eyes said something to her, but she couldn't quite interpret it. She was conscious of the crown staring at both of them. Draco however, remained oblivious to the conspicuous glances and whispers.

_Move_, she told herself.

Draco began to push himself through the crowd, heading towards Hermione. The crowd simply moved to the side, their interest increasing. No one seemed to care that a former Death Eater was walking amongst them.

Draco was a mere fifteen feet away from them until Ron blocked him from his path.

"What the hell, Malfoy?" Ron demanded, his wand peaking out of his pockets.

Draco stopped in his tracks, breaking his gaze away from Hermione. "Get out of the way, Weasley," he growled.

Ron didn't back down. He took out his wand from his pocket and pointed it against the blonde man. Another gasp ran through the crowd; some of them backed away, fearing a magical duel while others closed in, trying to get a good view of the two enemies.

"Get out," Ron ordered, his voice cold and hard.

Draco didn't falter. He didn't take out his wand to defend himself, and Hermione began to wonder if Draco even owned one. "Is that how you really treat a guest, Weasley? I see after all this years, your manners didn't even change," Draco said. "Now, tell me. How does it feel like being the weakest and the most foolish in the family?"

Ron's face turned read, matching his famous hair. "At least I'm not a coward!" Ron retored, pressing his wand against Draco's neck.

The blonde man stumbled a little, but he kept his cool posture. "You're not going to hurt me/"

"No, but I might."

George Weasley stepped away from the crowd, carrying his wand on his side. He didn't raise it against Draco, but remained twirling it along his fingers. His voice was cold, strange, even to Hermione. She never heard that voice from George before, and that scared her even more.

Ron stepped to the side, tucking his wand into his pocket. A small smirk began to appear on the corner of his mouth as his older brother took his previous position.

"George," Draco whispered in surprise.

"Expecting someone else, didn't you?" George asked, not looking for any particular answer. "The great Draco Malfoy is surprised by a Wealsey? Someone must report this to _The Daily Prophet_." He now stood in front of Draco, towering him by a couple inches. "Out of all the people in the world, you didn't expect Hermione to choose me?"

Draco remained silent, proving George's theory. His eyes ran past George and into Hermione's. In one quick glance, she saw them; they were filled with pain, disbelieve, and betrayal. And with a blink of an eye, it all disappeared again, returning to Draco's usual cool eyes.

"Now I don't want to bore you with history lessons, but the last time I checked, you were dead," George said. "If you asked me, you should have stayed dead."

"You need to get your faced checked, Weasley. The last time I checked, I was missing, not dead."

Hearing Draco's voice broke all the control George had. His smirk disappeared, and he stopped twirling his wand. Hermione tried to break away from Blaise's grip, but the dark man only tightened it even more She gritted her teeth in frustration. _This cannot be happening,_ she repeated to herself.

George's eyes bore into Draco's. "You need to leave," George said, his voice betraying his patience. "_Now_."

Draco erupted into laughter, startling those around him. "I don't think Hermione, _your fiancée_, would like that."

George's grip on his wand tightened. Hermione watched the contour of his back tightened. Suddenly, everything around her froze. The crowd, with all their whispers and accusing glances disappeared. The small movements around her slowed down; the air too, started to thin out.

Another gasp escaped through the crowd as George raised his wand and pressed it against Draco's chest. Draco stumbled back, his eyes startled. A fear ran through him, but he managed to keep it hidden. His eyes traveled to his pocket, only to come into a realization that it was empty. He silently cursed himself for being so foolish, so unprepared for this event.

"Leave," George threatened once more.

"No."

George's eyes blazed with anger. "Leave now, or I'll personally rid this world of you."

Deep inside, Draco knew that George wasn't bluffing. He couldn't believe how much this man had changed. The last time he remembered, he was the most harmless of the Weasley clan. But now, his voice, cold and full of hatred, replaced the laughter that made him famous. He could see years of pain and sadness in his eyes. His face was worn; years of coping with danger and loss took away everything George was. He realized that on that fateful day of the war, one twin didn't die. Two of them did.

"Expiliarmus!"

George's wand flew out of his hand and landed five feet away from they stood. All eyes shifted from the confrontation to the woman standing with her wand in front of her. Hermione shocked herself when she realized what she just did. She didn't know where to look; but her eyes couldn't tear away from the two men in front of her.

Draco's slightly amused face annoyed her, but the look on George's face broke her heat. She saw the pain, the betrayal in them. Aware that Hermione was watching him, George quickly replaced his pain with a guarded look that Hermione knew he wore only when he's in pain.

Panic rose within her. She dropped her wand after shouting the spell, and she knew that Blaise had picked it up a second later. Her eyes darted to her guests; Ron stood there, shaking his head in contempt. Ginny and Harry stood in front of the crowd; Harry avoided her eyes, but Ginny stared directly into her. She wanted something, an advice, or a reassurance from her best friend, but Ginny's face remained passive.

"I- I'm sorry," she whispered before she turned on her heels and ran out of the tent, leaving the people behind her baffled at her wake.

_Hermione ran through the woods, dodging the tall trees looming above her. She wanted to look behind her back, but she feared that if she didn't pay attention the obstacles in front of her, she would trip and fall. Her eyes focused to the night light, and she saw a big, fallen, dead tree in front of her. She took out a wand and whispered a spell. Her magic worked; the tree disappeared into a mere dust. She privately thanked herself for reading plenty of books back at Hogwarts so she could execute that plan._

_Her thoughts snapped back to reality when she could hear approaching steps behind her. She was not on their earshot, so they could not hear her footsteps crunching against the branches. She knew however, that they would quickly catch up to her if she didn't run faster. _

_Hermione fastened her speed; she began to sprint, her arms moving to the rock of her steps. Her legs began to ache. She was panting; she tried to pace her breathing, but couldn't. Hermione was never a runner; she preferred studying and reading all night rather than picking up a sport. _

_Suddenly, Hermione lost her balance and stumbled onto the ground. Her right leg had lost its footing, and she came very close to twisting her ankle. She landed on her stomach, her wand escaping her hand and landing a foot away. _

_There was no time to think; she pushed herself up and grabbed her wand before resuming her run. She felt something pointy in her hair, probably a twig that her messy curls picked up when she fell. She consciously ran one of her hands through her hair, trying to uncover the irritating object. _

Stop it, Hermione. That's the least of your problems, _she thought to herself. _

_Ahead, she saw an open ground. She was leaving the woods. With all her might, she ran even faster than before. As she stepped the much softer, greener ground, she located several, abandoned cottages. _

_After pausing for a moment, she resumed her running. She ran through the small sidewalk than ran between the buildings. She turned right, and picked the smallest and closest cottage she saw. _

_Hermione's breath was short and heavy. She slammed her back against the rough building, pressing her back as far and deep as she can. Her arm rested against the side of her body, and she pressed the side of her wand against her leg, reassuring her sanity more than anything else._

_The night loomed over her. The full moon shone at its intensity; she hoped that it wouldn't give her position away. The weather was chilly for the season, and Hermione secretly regretted for not wearing a sweater. _

_She could hear the whispers around the corner. Hermione turned to the corner, and saw the door to the building. She turned the door knob, but it was locked. She muttered a quick spell under her breath and ducked in, closing the door silently behind her._

_The room was dirty and empty for the most part. A big, ominous window stood on the side of the room, which reflected the moon from the outside. She stood in the shadows, hoping that her appearance would still remain hidden. _

_Hermione could make out two figures through the window. One of them peered through the window, scanning the room from the outside. Hermione held her breath and watched the figure with intensity. After a couple more seconds, the figure resigned from his task. He nudged his partner, whispering something Hermione couldn't make out. The other man nodded in agreement before they headed towards the opposite direction, away from the building._

_Hermione let out a sigh of relief. She was safe, at least for now. _

_She knew it was too good to be true. Before she had a chance to relax, a cold, rough hand eloped over her mouth. _

_**A/N:**__ Sorry for taking a long time to update. I've been busy with school and everything. Plus, I had a minor writer's block. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! By the way, I don't know why wouldn't show the division I created within the stories. So I hope you guys can differentiate the difference. For example, in this chapter, the italics is the second part of the story. There are only two parts in this one, and three in the previous chapter. _


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